SANDOWN REDEVELOPMENT PLAN TICKED OFF BY COUNCIL

The City of Greater Dandenong Council has given the all clear to Melbourne Racing Club’s Planning Scheme Amendment application for Sandown, allowing the plan to progress to the community consultation stage.

MRC submitted the application to Dandenong council last week, the proposed ‘Sandown Racecourse Urban Renewal Project’ a rezoning proposal which could see the entire 112 hectares surrounding Sandown Raceway transformed into a suburb incorporating up to 7500 homes, which would house up to 16,000 people.

Sandown’s new layout is proposed to be divided into four precincts: Town Centre, East, West and Princes, intersecting with the current circuit. Concept drawings show housing on the ground which the circuit currently sits on.

As such, the redevelopment of the area would almost certainly involve demolishing the track, putting an end to racing at the historic venue in the long term.

Documents submitted at the council meeting last night indicate that the next stages of the process are an ‘exhibition of the amendment’ and ‘assessment of public submissions’ before the council make a final decision on whether to request the establishment of a planning panel.

“What this means is, this will be the opportunity, once it is exhibited, for the community to examine these plans and have their say and we hope that the community takes up that opportunity,” councillor Rhonda Garad said at the meeting.

While the planned project does not allow for continued motorsport, documents released last night detail that any redevelopment would ‘recognise the local historical values’ of Sandown Racecourse/Raceway by maintaining the heritage listed grandstand and aligning the Main Boulevard in front of it to ‘celebrate’ motor racing at Sandown.

Any redevelopment would take a considerable period of time to achieve – the outcome of the application will not be known for over 12 months and Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) members will get the final vote months after that.

If that process flows smoothly any work on the ground would probably not start for at least four years and there is the possibility that motorsport could continue during the early stages of that.

Melbourne Racing Club first submitted documentation to Dandenong Council in January 2021 supporting a Planning Scheme Amendment to rezone the land and facilitate the Sandown Racecourse Urban Renewal project.

Sandown Raceway has been an integral part of Australian motorsport since the 1960s, hosting key events such as the Australian Grand Prix, Sandown 500 and Tasman Series.

The venue has hosted the most Australian Touring Car Championship/Supercars races of any track in the country.

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